Audra McDonald Will Take Break From Shuffle Along to Make West End Debut in Lady Day

Mama Broadway will make her West End debut during her previously reported break from Shuffle Along! Audra McDonald is set to reprise her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill for a nine-week engagement at London's Wyndham's Theatre. Previews will begin on June 25 and the production will run through September 3; opening night is scheduled for July 5.

McDonald won her history-making sixth Tony in 2014 for her portrayal of Holiday in the Broadway show. Directed by Lonny Price and written by Lanie Robertson, it examines one of the final performances of the jazz legend's lifetime; an HBO special of the production will premiere on March 12.

Since starring in Lady Day on Broadway, McDonald has kept extremely busy on and off stage. She appeared in Ricki and the Flash alongside Meryl Streep, filmed the live-action Beauty and the Beast (slated for a March 2017 release), starred opposite her husband Will Swenson in A Moon for the Misbegotten at Williamstown Theatre Festival and won an Emmy for hosting Live From Lincoln Center. She'll also star (and have "fake rough sex" with Cheyenne Jackson) in the upcoming film adaptation of Hello Again.

Shuffle Along is scheduled to begin previews on March 15 at the Music Box Theatre and officially open on April 28. McDonald will not appear in the production from June 20 through September 25; she will return on September 27.